title: Influence of education on subcortical hyperintensities and global cognitive status in vascular dementia.
abstract: Subcortical hyperintensities (SH) on neuroimaging are a prominent feature of vascular dementia (VaD) and SH severity correlates with cognitive impairment in this population. Previous studies demonstrated that SH burden accounts for a degree of the cognitive burden among VaD patients, although it remains unclear if individual factors such as cognitive reserve influence cognitive status in VaD. To address this issue, we examined 36 individuals diagnosed with probable VaD (age = 77.56; education = 12). All individuals underwent MMSE evaluations and MRI brain scans. We predicted that individuals with higher educational attainment would exhibit less cognitive difficulty despite similar levels of SH volume, compared to individuals with less educational attainment. A regression analysis revealed that greater SH volume was associated with lower scores on the MMSE. Additionally, education moderated the relationship between SH volume and MMSE score, demonstrating that individuals with higher education had higher scores on the MMSE despite similar degrees of SH burden. These results suggest that educational attainment buffers the deleterious effects of SH burden on cognitive status among VaD patients.
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Psychology, University of Missouri - Saint Louis, Saint Louis, Missouri.
authors.forename: Elizabeth M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Lane
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Psychology, University of Missouri - Saint Louis, Saint Louis, Missouri.
authors.forename: Robert H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Paul
authors.affiliation: 2Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Moser
authors.affiliation: 1Department of Psychology, University of Missouri - Saint Louis, Saint Louis, Missouri.
authors.forename: Thomas D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Fletcher
authors.affiliation: 3Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University Medical School, Providence, Rhode Island.
authors.forename: Ronald A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Cohen
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D015140:Dementia, Vascular / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D004493:Education / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008609:Mental Status Schedule; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests